Machines such as, for example, track-type tractors, dozers, motor graders, wheel loaders, and the like, are used to perform a variety of tasks. For example, these machines may be used to move material and/or alter work surfaces at a worksite. The machines may be manned machines, but may also be semi-autonomous or autonomous vehicles that perform these tasks in response to commands remotely or locally generated as part of a work plan for the machines. Moreover, the machines may receive instructions in accordance with the work plan to at least partially autonomously perform repetitive and relatively localized operations such as cutting, digging, loosening, loading, carrying, and any other manipulation of materials at the worksite.
Among other things, autonomous machines, such as dozers, are frequently used to perform normal cuts along a work surface and in accordance with predetermined pass or cut profiles. While performing cuts, however, these machines often encounter sections of hard material which cannot be cut or removed using the normal cut routines and blade implements. Such hard sections cause unwanted interruptions and hinder overall productivity. If left unattended, for instance, these hard sections may leave undesirable raised surfaces in the terrain that become more pronounced with every pass, or cause other deviations from the planned course or target profile. Thus, it is typical for operators to manually intervene and engage a ripping pass for every 3 to 10 normal cuts so as to loosen the terrain and avoid profile deviations caused by hard sections.
With the frequency to which such ripping passes are performed per work site and the frequency to which manual operator involvement is required by conventional systems, there is a need to provide a more intuitive automated scheme to minimize operator involvement as well as to improve overall efficiency. Some conventional systems may provide partial automated ripper control, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,616,297 (“Shintani, et al.”). While automated ripper control may help reduce operator involvement, there is still substantial room for improvement. The system in Shintani, et al., for instance, still requires manual intervention by the operator to not only identify hard sections in a given terrain, but also to initiate the automated ripping sequence.
In view of the foregoing inefficiencies and disadvantages associated with conventional autonomous machines and control systems therefor, a need exists for more intuitive automatic control systems which minimize operator involvement and improve overall efficiency and productivity.